|
|
 |
Archived News:
EA Suggests Removing
Windows Security Update news on 1UP describes a conflict between the new
BF2142 patch and a Windows XP security update, being careful to emphasize that
the conflict lies in XP, rather than the game. The issue is summed up in the
following quote in the patch notes: "Players who have the Windows security
update KB917422 installed may suffer from an application error when running
Battlefield 2142. This error can be solved by uninstalling the KB917422 update."
Matrix Games announces
the release of Starshatter: The Gathering Storm, the updated version of their
space combat simulator. Word is: Oct 19th 2006- Matrix Games,
www.matrixgames.com, and Destroyer
Studios are excited to release Starshatter: The Gathering Storm, a new,
enhanced, and expanded version of their award winning sci-fi space combat
simulation game Starshatter. As a special promotional offer, owners of the
original Starshatter series can save 35% off the regular price. If you’re a
previous owner go to
http://www.matrixgames.com/discount/starshatterthegatheringstorm.asp to
enable your discount.
David Heath, CEO of Matrix Games said “Once again we are thrilled to bring the
Starshatter Universe to life. The artistic quality of this series has leapt to a
new plateau, and we’re proud to have made the climb with this series.”
Starshatter: The Gathering Storm integrates elements of real-time-strategy games
by allowing fleet commanders to direct the battle on a tactical level, launching
fighters and directing destroyers to defend the fleet and annihilate enemy
forces. Arm fighters for patrol or strike missions, send orders to your
escorting destroyers and frigates to engage enemy starships, and defend the
fleet from attack by enemy fighters. You are the admiral, and you decide how to
employ all of your forces in battle. It is all up to you.
Frogster Interactive (thanks Frans) announces that the German edition of El
Matador has received a rating, reversing a decision this summer to not rate the
game ( story). Now that the game has been rated as appropriate for
sale to those over 18, the German El
Matador Website is once again online.
A new Dark Messiah of Might & Magic movie offers a look at Arkane Studios'
upcoming Source-engine action/RPG, available on
3D Gamers and
GameSpot. Also, what goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas, unless you manage to
get a peek at the new Rainbow Six: Vegas movie, showing off the antics of Team
Rainbow in Sin City. The new clip is set on a map called "Mexican Border,"
leading us to think we aren't as clear on the geography of Nevada as we thought.
The movie is available on
3D Gamers,
FileFront,
GameSpot, and
Worthplaying. Also, a new Neverwinter Nights 2 diary movie #5 is now
available from Atari
Australia, showing off more of Obsidian's now-gold RPG sequel. This
environments movie features narration from lead environment artist Tim Donley
(thanks Frans). Finally, a new Need for Speed Carbon movie shows off the Pursuit
mode in the upcoming installment in the racing series. The clip is available
from 3D Gamers,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
GameSpot, and
Worthplaying.
The official Europa Universalis III
Website is live. The site offers a new
Development Diary discussing how they have been working on balancing the
strategy sequel by strengthening Poland.
A new The Settlers II: The Next Generation patch is now available, updating Blue
Byte's strategy/management remake to version 9801. The patch includes bug fixes,
balance tweaks, and other refinements. The download is available
from Ubisoft (direct link).
- Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
The
Command
& Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars Q&A on GameDaily talks more about the
high-priced voice talent and other upscale production values in the coming
ERTS sequel: "There is no question that high fidelity visuals make our games
much more immersive. The new generation of hardware currently rolling out
for consoles and PCs alike is allowing us to create stunning in-game visuals
that you need a high definition display to appreciate. In the case of C&C 3,
there is an added bonus: Our live action and high-end CG sequences can be
played in high definition... and they look so much better that way."
- Threewave
The
Threewave Software Q&A on Shacknews is an article--format Q&A with Dan
Irish discussing various things, including plans for ad-supported gaming:
"It's an opportunity to play with your community, to play with your friends
at a very low cost or at a free price point, rather than having to shell out
$69.99 or $59.99 or even $49.99 for an opportunity that may be 20% better,
maybe 30% better, but you had to wait two years for it to come out."
- Need for Speed: Carbon
The
Need for Speed: Carbon Q&A on FiringSquad talks with Scott Nielsen,
associate producer on the upcoming racing sequel: "We spend a lot of time
looking at real life street racing culture and then couple this with new
gameplay features. From looking at some other key gameplay features,
specifically territory acquisition, a natural, obvious partner to this is
team racing and crews. We are always looking at expanding and trying new
things with the Need For Speed franchise and the team racing was an aspect
of gameplay that was interesting to look into. We’re really happy with the
results and I think our fans will appreciate the team racing this year."
- Tabula Rasa
The
Tabula Rasa
Q&A on Killer Betties talks with the TR team at NCsoft about their
upcoming MMORPG: "Tabula Rasa is much more action packed and interactive
than your average 'click once and wait for combat to end' MMO. TR rewards
smart combat. Running around madly shooting at your target will be somewhat
effective for those who enjoy a good zerg, but players who use positioning,
aiming, and strategic combat will be rewarded."
- Dave Perry
The
2Moons Q&A on MMORPG.COM talks with David Perry about 2Moons, and plans
to bring this MMORPG to western audiences: "To cut it really short, the
story is focused on a giant Door that when opened, beasts are unleashed into
the lands of Haran and kill almost everyone. Two cities remain and once you
step outside, you're in ever-increasing danger. It's up to you what you do,
we don't lead you. You can be a wimp and sit around town all day, or go
fishing, or you can gather up some friends and just see how far you can
penetrate into the unknown. You will have no idea what's coming next and you
can bet it's dangerous. You and people like you must try to survive until
the two moons cross, only then will Trieste - the white lady, be
re-incarnated and can once more seal the gate closed with her own blood."
- Vivox
RPG
Vault's Vivox Q&A talks with the folks behind this in-game voice
communication software: "We provide in-game voice services that allow
players to talk to each other while they are playing - one to one and in
groups, character to character, avatar to avatar, within their guild, gang
or corporation. Generally, we can create a voice chat channel to correspond
to any traditional game text chat channel. Being able to talk to other
characters makes the game experience better because it improves tactical
command and control, strategy and social interaction."
- Star Wars: Empire at War - Forces of Corruption
Wrapping
up the Art of Corruption with Eric Kearns on the Petroglyph Forums is a
podcast talking with Eric Kearns, lead artist on Star Wars: Empire at War -
Forces of Corruption. Topics include his favorite maps in the RTS expansion,
obstacles to its development, and violence in games.
- Dark Age of Camelot
The
Dark Age of Camelot Dev Profile on MMORPG.COM talks with the Mythic
developer about her work and her interests.
Had a lovely time attending the adoption dealie today. It was a very touching
event, and the Judge handled things very nicely. I just can't get over the size
and scope of the courtroom where this all went on. This was a Surrogate's court,
but this giant ornate room covered in carved wood and other finery looked like
it should house the US Supreme Court or something. Wow.
Dracula Twins
spine-tingling PC demo now available announces the availability of a
multilingual demo for Dracula Twins, the upcoming casual action game featuring
the fraternal pair delivered by Dr. Acula. Word is: "The playable demo includes
seven spooky stages set in the graveyards just outside the Dracula castle in
Transylvania. Featuring 2 playable characters, the demo allows you to take on
Doctor Lifelust and his undead minions playing as Drac or Dracana!" The download
is available on the
Legendo Website and mirrored on
3D Gamers,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and Worthplaying.
Running With Scissors' Sharpens
POSTAL III for Xbox 360 and PC is the press release officially announcing
Running With Scissors' first-person shooter sequel, following last night's
indications that the project is underway ( story). The
announcement confirms the use of the Source engine, the participation of Akella
as publisher, and a 2008 release date: Tucson, AZ Almost a decade after
the release of POSTAL, Running With Scissors (RWS), the creators behind the dark
comedic video game franchise has announced development of POSTAL III, the first
game in the long-running series aimed at both the computer and videogame console
markets.
Currently in development for the Xbox 360 and PC systems, POSTAL III will employ
the Source engine (the same technology Valve® created to drive Half-Life® 2) to
deliver a new and advanced technical level of social satire and politically
incorrect virtual violence.
"We started this series back in 1997," recalled RWS CEO Vince Desi, "and while
the franchise has grown into an international computer game sensation during
that time, it has always been our goal to bring it to the videogame console
marketplace. For many years I’ve been asked by gamers around the world when
POSTAL will appear on console. I’m so proud to be able to answer our fans'
prayers."
POSTAL III will include motion-captured performances by a wide array of
celebrities – from film stars to Playboy Playmates – as well as a storyline that
offers gamers vast latitude in terms of their behavior. "We've always maintained
since publishing the original POSTAL that the game is only as violent as the
player wants it to be and we're committed to expanding this unique form of
gameplay in this next addition to the ongoing storyline," Desi vowed.
Andrew Belkin, Producer for Akella stated “We here at Akella are big fans of the
POSTAL series and so being involved in production of POSTAL III is both great
fun and an honor for us. In cooperation with RWS talent I believe POSTAL III
will be the sickest and craziest game ever! Definitely, this is the first
project of such scale and a major step forward for our company”
The player will once again be cast as the nameless "Postal Dude," the star of
all previous versions of the game, including POSTAL 2: Share The Pain and POSTAL
2: Apocalypse Weekend. POSTAL III is scheduled for release some time in 2008.
For more information on cool POSTAL products and gear, visit our new expanded
site www.gopostal.com.
SpellForce
2: Dragon Storm - Official Release In The First Quarter 2007 announces the
planned release date for Phenomic's SpellForce 2 add-on is first quarter 2007,
slightly narrowing a window that previously had been Winter 2006. JoWooD
Productions explains: "Dragon Storm will offer once again raise the barrier in terms of quality and gameplay and will definitely be a highlight for all SpellForce Fans. Phenomic have the resources and the development time to present a gaming experience to the fans that will fully meet their expectations."
The Witcher GC movie is now available, offering a very high resolution look at
cinematics from CD Projekt RED's upcoming action/RPG. The trailer is available
on 3D Gamers,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and Worthplaying.
- Battlefield 2142
The
Battlefield 2142 Q&A on FiringSquad talks with Marcus Nilsson about
DICE's new multiplayer shooter sequel: "We have worked very hard to create
an immersive experience for any FPS fan. One thing that very much
jeopardizes the sandbox experience we worked so hard to create are those few
individuals that take unfair advantage of exploits. The community is
creative and find new ways of playing the game that might be considered
cheating, but we are confident that we will be able to prevent much of the
unfair play from thorough testing, the use of Punkbuster and through DICE’s
Live team’s perusal and ever-seeing eye on the servers."
- The Mark
The
Mark Q&A on Gameguru Mania is a publisher-distributed Q&A with Andrzej
Wilewski and Jacek Matuszewski about the upcoming first-person shooter: "Due
to the different environments, a huge amount of attention has been put into
graphics. We tried to make the locations as detailed as possible, with
careful texturing and lighting. Obviously the places are based on reality,
and adopted for gameplay - we used tons of pictures, even taking trips to
places to document them on our own (for instance the in-game castles where
we took hundreds of photos for the purpose of texturing alone!). On the
other hand we wanted to avoid making the graphics overly drab and dreary, so
we made our choice and selected them carefully."
Going to be making an appearance in court today. I'm not involved in any
litigation, I am going to be attending an adoption, I dunno, ceremony? Whatever
you call it, it should be an experience… it's always interesting to see our
legal system in action.
|